E&’s big bold bet on tech

E&’s big bold bet on tech

First published on Termsheet, a newsletter with commentary on startups and venture capital in emerging markets by Zubair Naeem Paracha. 

Careem’s Super App spinout had been in the works for over 18 months at least. The company reportedly held talks with different investors in the UAE & Saudi and finally announced a $400 million deal with E& (formerly Etisalat Group) earlier this month. As a result of the deal, E& acquired a 50.03 percent stake in Careem’s Super App business. It is a very interesting development for different reasons.

a) The ability of Careem’s founders and leadership to pull this off.

b) The complex structure of the post-deal company.

c) The absence of Saudis.

d) Giving up the majority.

e) The investor.

I’d love to discuss a and b in detail at some point but today’s issue is about e. E& to be precise. A global technology and investment group, as they call themselves.

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Formerly known as Etisalat Group, the company is primarily recognized as the owner and operator of UAE’s first and largest telecommunications company, Etisalat. In February 2022, it rebranded as E&, possibly to reflect its diversified portfolio of businesses. The ‘E’ in the name stands for Etisalat, while the word